6 - Sunday, May 26, 1991 - North Shore News NEWS VIEWPOINT | dees Mttonansil Sha MULE Otypragtltlle No Brutal facts GUTH VIOLENCE is rearing its ugly head again on the North Shore. In a recent survey in the North Shore News’ Zap youth section, 62% of call-in respondents agreed that youth gangs were a growing concern on the North Shore. And recent incidents indicate that local gang violence is a brutal fact. Earlier this month, a family of four was assaulted by youths at a Mt. Seymour Parkway gas station and sent to hesnital. The youths attacked the victims with Mace and broken beer bottles following a verbal confrontation. AS a result of increased area vioience, the local Chevron statioa has been forced to hire security guards and install video surveiliance cameras to curtail the activities of, young louts. In North Vancouver, ‘Sometimes I'm practically paralysed and I can’t get up and I right in one respect. The only things we can throw away is the outraged parents have formed ALIVE (Adolescence Living in Violence Everyday) in an effort to protect their children from youth gangs and violence. The group is lobbying for stricter penalties in the Young Offenders Act. But these measures still only address the problem after the beatings or after the harassment has occurred. The solution lies in prevention and it lies primarily in the hands of parents: children must be taught respect for their fellow humans; they must be taught to resolve conflicts non-violently; and they must be hetd accountable for their actions. Parents afraid of ‘‘bullying’’ their teens into a sense of responsibility should con- sider the prospect of heing bullied themselves by Mace-wieiding, irresponsible youths. Indian Arm Ratepayers Associa- tion, on what she claims was North Vancouver District’s lack of OF THE have the time to think whether or not life is stit! worth living.** West Vancouver resident Rudolph Von Schlack, on life after the tragic death of his wife, who was struck by a car on March 30. “Human beings were never designed to work next to these things (the stacks)."” Workers Compensation spokesman Scott McCloy, after 30 workers at a North Vancouver chemical plant were exposed to high levels of chlorine gas. “And (West) Vancouver Howe- Soun@ MLA John) Reynokis was saying, ‘Oh, we have to recycie.’ And, ‘We can no Songer throw things away.’ Well Reynolds was government, throw those guys out of Victoria for allowing these guys to break our laws.”° support for a project to clean up Indian Arm. Environmental activist Terry Jacks, on what he says is the pro- ‘4 don't know — I'm a little vincial government’s continued upset because of the things we inaction on industrial pollution. “FE must tetl you, most people are have to do in order to operate a business because the parents aren't looking after their own kids."’ really dumb when it comes to Mount Seymour Parkway committing crimes. They don’t) Chevron Station manager Cec know how to commit crimes. Kerr, on youth violence after a They might as well put their name and social insurance number on the forgery."” Marcel Matley, document exam- iner, graphologist and author, on criminals and forgers. “It's like we're here at tax time and then we don’t exist." Cindy Matson, president of the gang attacked a faiéty in Deep Cove on May HH. “You will have heard that art is 2 luxury. Don't believe it. Art is a necessity, in all its forms.”* Actor Robert Clothier, deliver- ing the keynote address at the May 22 opening of the B.C. Fes- tival of the Arts. North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and aualtied unger Schedule 111, Paragraph (Il of the Excise Tax Acl, 1s published each Wednesday. Friday ang Sunday by Nosth Shore Free Press Lia and distibuled 10 every door on the North Shore Second Class Mai Registralion Number 3685 Subscriptions North and West Vancauver. $25 per year. Mailing rates available on reques! Submissions are weicome but we cannot accept sesponsibiiity for unsolicited material mniluding Manuscnpts and pictures which should be accompanied by a clamped, addressed erveiope SUNDAY - WEDNESOAY V7M 2H4 Publisher . 7 Peter Speck Display Advertising 980-0511 Distribution 986-1337 Geka Nortn Snore Managing Editer. Timothy Renshaw Real Estate Adveriising 985-6982 Subscriptions 986-1337 iM managed Associate Editor Noel Wright Ciassified Advertising 986-6222 Fax 985-3227 Advertising Director = Linda Stewart. Newsroom 985-2131 Administration 985-2131 Comptroiier Daug Foot Fhe CONES C8 Nar AED WE ET ULETOUNLA 1139 Lonsdale Avenue. North Vancouver, 6.C Enure contents <- RIDAY SDA DIVISION 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday. Friday & Sunray) 1991 Narth Srore Free Press Lid. All aghts reserved BILL VANDER ZALM... dicated, for once. Do bureaucrats wage a hidden war on Socreds? COULD THERE be a plot afoot in the B.C. civil service to destroy the government that its powerful union hates? Though not conclusive, a first tiny hint surfaced last week. Earlier -- fogging a dying horse to the end — NDP finance critic Glen Clark had told the Legislature that Fantasy Gardens, sold last year by ousted premier Bill Vander Zalm, had not paid its sales tax ‘‘for some time.’’ On Wednesday he had to apol- ogize when Vander Zalm tabled “proof that the taxes had been fully paid. MLA John Reynoids followed up with a censure motion against Clark. The disturbing aspect, however, was where Clark got his false in- formation. It came from ‘‘a fi- nance ministry source.’’ Let's charitably assume the said official made an honest error. But how did the whole matter arise at all? Did Clark snoop around the ministry asking for any new dirt on Vander Zalm? Or did the of- ficial go to Clark spontaneously? The power of entrenched bureaucracies vis-a-vis their tem- porary political masters has been documented down the ages in lit- erature and drama. The people’s representatives, who come and go, are always frighteningly dependent on the knowledge and expertise of the bureaucrats, who alone know how to make the complex gov- ernment machine actually WORK. Hence the idealized tradition of a strictly non-partisan civil service. But how realistic is that always in practice — especially when civil servants, as in B.C., belong to a huge, highly politicized union which makes no secret of its op- position to many government policies? In particular, unnamed civil servants provide many of the ‘‘re- liable suurces’’ where the media’s political stories often start. Whistle-blowing on politicians’ hidden misdeeds is one thing. But ongoing portrayal of ALL gov- ernment actions and personalities to the media in the world light — which, at least, is equally possible -— would be quite another, Vander Zalm and colleagues are undoubtedly the authors of many of their own woes. But the unrelenting consistency of the media attacks on them over the past 18 months has often assumed all the outward trappings of an organized campaign. So is Clark’s dud informer one of an unknown number of active Socred foes in B.C.’s bureaucracy — ‘Deep Throats’’ who daily feed slanted partisan tidbits to the vine Neel HITHER AND YON media and opposition to further their union’s political ends? Just asking. TAILPIECES: Good thinking by teader ‘‘Jim’’ of North Van District on the eternal conflict-of- interesi issue. A council member must leave the chamber during debate and voting on an item in- volving him or her in a personal COIL. So — asks ‘‘Jim’’ — when council members vote themselves more money, shouldn’t they ALL leave the chamber? ... Just two days before West Van’s Com- munity Day the West Van Histor- ical Society features that annual event at its 7 p.m. ‘‘everyone wel- come’’ meeting next Thursday, May 30, in Cedardale Centre (Burley east off Taylor Way) — the 60th anniversary of West Van's May Day celebrations, with photos, memorabilia and hope- fully a video ... Oops, we boobed when mentioning the prociarnation of St. John Ambulance Week in Wednesday’s column. The dates are June (NOT May) 23-29 ... And today, May 26, it’s happy birthday for the 52nd time to the skipper of the good ship North Shore News — publisher Peter Speck. eae WRIGHT OR WRONG: Forget about taking the bitter with the sweet. All it does is spoil the taste of the sweet. ORES JOHN REYNOLDS... censuring the accuser.